The present invention is concerned with a flushing apparatus and a method thereof. The present invention relates to an apparatus for flushing and distributing predetermined and adjustable volumes of liquid toward one or several surfaces to be used for applications such as water treatment and irrigation.
Known in the art, there is the French patent document published under the publication no. FR 2,760,030. In this document, there is described a flushing system having a float with a horizontal outlet. The float is attached to an outlet tube. The system is supported by a double, hinged cradle which rotates around a horizontal axis according to the water level. The position in which water begins to flow is determined by the balance between the thrust produced by the drainage pipe and the attached float and the total weight of the counterweight. The float is attached to a counterweight with one fixed section which slides over a rod which ensures that the system returns to a height, cutting of the supply to the outlet pipe.
Also known in the art, there is the French patent document no. 2,654,761 which describes a pendulous drainage device comprising at least one outlet pipe mounted movably between an upper position and a lower position, inside a tank supplied with a liquid, and communicating at its lower part with a discharge conduit situated outside the tank. This device is characterised in that the free end of the outlet pipe comprises a buoyancy unit consisting of an annular cell inside which the mouthpiece of the outlet pipe opens.
Also known in the art, there is the French patent document no. 2,654,758 which describes a pendular device for flushing and distributing a liquid. This device comprises at least one drain tube mounted so that it can move between a high position and a low position outside a tank fed by a liquid and communicating at its lower part with the inside of the tank through the use of a siphon. The tube is normally held in a high position inclined with respect to the vertical by means of ballast. The effect of the ballast is cancelled out under the action of the weight of the liquid filling the tube as the level in the tank gradually rises.
Also known in the art, there are systems with siphon. Such system has the drawback of being easily blocked when operating with wastewater.
A drawback with the above-mentioned documents of the prior art is that they do not provide a great flexibility in relation to the water level fluctuation range that is needed for operating the apparatus. Another drawback with the above-mentioned documents of the prior art is that they do not provide a great flexibility for adjusting the mobility of the flushing arm. Another drawback with the above-mentioned documents of the prior art is that the flushing arm is, most of the time, immersed in the liquid to be flushed.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above.
According to the present invention, there is provided a flushing apparatus comprising a reservoir for storing liquid, the reservoir having an outlet end movable between a raised position where liquid accumulates in the reservoir, and a down position where liquid stored in the reservoir is flushed out; a counterweight for producing an effect of urging the outlet end of reservoir toward the raised position; a reservoir ballast interdependent with the outlet end of the reservoir and moving with the same, the ballast having an inlet for introducing liquid therein when the outlet end of the reservoir is in the raised position, and an outlet for flushing liquid out when the outlet end of the reservoir is in the down position, the ballast cancelling the effect of the counterweight when the liquid stored therein reaches a predetermined amount; a channel for channelling a liquid into the inlet of the ballast when the outlet end of the reservoir is in the raised position; and a means for preventing an overflow of the outlet end of the reservoir.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a method for flushing a predetermined amount of liquid, comprising steps of storing liquid in a reservoir having an outlet end movable between a raised position where liquid accumulates in the reservoir, and a down position where liquid stored in the reservoir is flushed out; urging the outlet end of reservoir toward the raised position by means of a counterweight; urging the outlet end of the reservoir by means of a reservoir ballast when said ballast contains liquid, the reservoir ballast being interdependent with the outlet end of the reservoir and moving with the same; channelling a liquid into an inlet of the ballast when the outlet end of the reservoir is in the raised position; cancelling the effect of the counterweight when the liquid stored in the ballast reaches a predetermined amount to move the outlet end of the reservoir from the raised position to the down position and thereby flushing liquid out of the reservoir and out of the ballast; moving the outlet end of the reservoir back to the raised position by the effect of the counterweight when the predetermined amount of liquid has been flushed; and preventing an overflow of the reservoir when the outlet end is in the raised position.
The objects, advantages and other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of preferred embodiments thereof, given for the purpose of exemplification only with reference to the accompanying drawings.